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The Glow
The third chapter of Alone. |editor = |airdate = August 18, 2010 |prev = Leah |next = BDA }} Overview While on a vacation to the Great Lakes, the boat Leah and her mother is on capsizes from a rogue wave. While saving them with the Avatar State, she alerts her presence to the Bending Defense Agency. 12 Years Later "What do you think instigates the fear in these people?" The teacher's remark was met with only the sound of coughs and various attempts at staying awake. "In my opinion, what drives fear into people is the unknown. Back in the 1960's, many african-americans were met with not only persecution, but also fear. Back then many white people didn't actually know that much about them other than stereotyping. Stereotyping is only placing common knowledge or rumours to people instead of actual facts. The blacks faced stereotyping that included that all blacks were dirty, uncivilized, uneducated. But most of all, they were feared because they were different." The teacher's lecture was cut short by the bell as her students desperately scrambled out of class. As the teacher walked to the back of the class, slightly frustrated, she noticed one student still in a fit of slumber. As she looked at her disappointed, she noticed several small pebbles at the base of her desk. "Leah?" she said gently while shaking her. As Leah finally awoke with a small start, she looked up at her teacher. "So how was the lesson?" "Over, and if this keeps up so will you. Leah I'm quite disappointed. This is the third time you have fallen asleep in my class, and the fourth time you've had rocks littering my floor. I'm afraid I'll need to have to bring it up with your guardian at conferences on Wednesday ." "Ok, I'll try to do better," Leah said with a pinch of grogginess. As Leah left for her locker the teacher suddenly stopped her, "And Leah, Happy Birthday." ---- Leah continued to her locker as kids rushed out the door to the bus. As she packed away her things her mind was filled with anger towards her teacher. It's not my fault I fell asleep, it's '''your' lesson that did it. And with the pebbles...'' "Leah!" She turned away from her locker to face her "mom." Since legally adopting her Leah had become as she was her own daughter. She walked in with pajama sweat pants and old scrubs from the hospital. "Hey mom, what's up?" "How's your birthday kiddo?" "Meh, it's alright." "What's the matter, not excited to be 12?" "No, just a rough day." "Well calm down, you get a day off to go..." she said with an excited edge to her voice. "Boating?" "Yes! We're leaving tomorrow with the boat at around 11, so I want you packed up tonight." "Alright mom." Leah said with a better tone. With the teacher's lecture swiftly leaving her mind, she set her thoughts on how to best crash the tube on Lake Michigan. Vacation The next day, a single white boat sped out into the waters of Lake Michigan near Chicago. With slight cloud cover on a hot day, and no other boats in sight, it was in Leah's opinion a perfect day to go tubing. "Alright, this should be good enough," Leah's mom said looking around. "What do you want to ride first?" "What did we bring?" "We have the Air Chair, Big Bertha, and Big Mable." "Air Chair of course!" As Leah strapped onto the slim piece of wood attached to an anchor, she launched into the water. The boat sped off as Leah's Air Chair used the anchor to lift itself up into the water. After a few feeble attempts to keep her balance, she crashed with a spectacular splash into the cold waters of the lake. A few more times at this, and she then switched to Big Bertha, a tube in which you kneel in a hole and hold onto two handles. "Hey mom?" "Yeah honey?" "Can you put Big Mable out there with the weight?" "Gonna see if it can crash you?" "You know me too well," Leah said with a smile. After a few tries at crashing the heavy weight, it overcame her small tube and she crashed. As Leah continued to enjoy her boating day, her mother came to notice the ominous red flags on the shore, along with no other boaters on the water. Her mother quickly pulled the boat to a stop and brought Leah in. "Is something wrong?" When Leah said this the threat arrived. A freak wave that Leah's mother had spotted coming towards them. The rogue wave crashed into their boats with a roar. Both Leah and her mother were washed overboard as the boat was plunged beneath the water. The currents of the sudden storm combined with the lake's currents proved to be extremely lethal. Suddenly Leah's eyes opened in the icy water, slightly glowing blue. She smashed her fists together as a swirling spout of water brought her, her mother, and the boat to the surface. As storm waves continued to rock the boat, Leah lifted the water spout into the air and sliced it, creating several long ice spikes. The spikes spiraled down to the surface to form a raft. Leah then grabbed the metal surface of the boat and made the boat launch itself onto the raft. Using what seemed the very currents of the air, she launched herself to the top of the boat and put her arms behind her, pushing the raft of ice towards the shore. ---- "Mom, mom wake up!" Leah sat on the shore of the beach with her mother, currently unmoving. "Mom please! Wake up!" Not knowing CPR and with no-one in sight, she lightly slapped her mother's cheek. Her mother woke up with a cough of water and a slight pale tinge to her face. "Leah?" she said weakly. "Yes mom, we're ok." Leah said, relieved. "What did you do?" "What do you mean mom?" "You...you manipulated the water, the metal of the boat!" she said pointing to the large dent in the boat. "What? I...I don't remember anything. I remember you pulling me in, and then we're here on the beach." "But that wasn't it, you, it almost seems like you bent the very elements. And your eyes; your eyes almost seemed to glow with blue on the edges." Leah looked at her mother with a combination of sheer unbelief and terror. Great, she thought to herself. First messing with the pebbles, and now... She barely finished this train of thought before collapsing from exhaustion. Finally A man sat silently at his desk, sitting in a room of earth staring at the fireplace. He was waiting on some important news on his plan. It had taken a lot of "convincing" and government money to close every beach and boat launch on Lake Michigan. Except for one. As he pondered on the possible results, a man knocked quietly on the wall where a door should be. "Enter." the man in the desk stated. As the man looked towards the wall, a sudden gap appeared, revealing another man with a scruffy beard and a government patch on his shoulder. "Sir, the plan flushed her out. We've found her." Production Notes *The author added normal and seemingly boring elements into this chapter to remind the reader that before the incident on the lake, Leah is a normal person. * }} please }} Category:Alone Category:Chapters Category:Book 1: Glass